A trip to the CFP title game is on the line when Notre Dame and Penn State meet in the Orange Bowl

DANIA BEACH, Fla. — It’s been a while since Notre Dame or Penn State have reached the pinnacle of college football as national champions. It was 1988 for the Fighting Irish, 1986 for the Nittany Lions. There have been good seasons and bad seasons in the three-plus decades that have followed, a change of coaches and a complete overhaul of what the sport looks like.

Yet here they are – again, on the verge of the title.

The loss to Northern Illinois is no longer relevant to Notre Dame. Losses at Ohio State and Oregon don’t matter to Penn State right now. The Irish (13-1) and Nittany Lions (13-2) face off in the Orange Bowl, the first of two College Football Playoff semifinal games; the second when Texas takes on Ohio State.

“Obviously, you can’t get to this point in the season without being good in all three phases,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “So far I’ve gotten a lot of respect for what we’ve seen on film and what we’ve studied, and we still have a lot of work to do.”

Notre Dame has won 12 straight games, its longest streak since the 2019-2020 16-game hitting streak. The only loss was a week two home loss, 16-14 to Northern Illinois. In the old days of college football – maybe even last year – such a loss could have doomed the playoff chances. Not anymore.

Notre Dame got here by beating Georgia in the CFP quarterfinals at the Sugar Bowl, a game that was delayed one day by a truck attack in New Orleans. Penn State earned its spot in the semifinals by topping Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl two days earlier.

“The mental preparation time is the same,” Irish coach Marcus Freeman said. “It was just a normal week for us. It was Saturday on Saturday, as we look at it in terms of the game week. I think we coaches were probably a little behind at the start just because of the travel and in that regard, but physically our guys were good. Our guys were good, and we will be ready to play.”

A historic match for Black’s coaches

That’s been the story since the matchup was set: The winning coach in this game will go to the CFP title game on Jan. 20 with a chance to become the first Black coach to win a major national championship in college football.

“I don’t take it lightly,” Franklin said.

Freeman made sure to give credit to the two men who hired him at Notre Dame: then-athletic director Jack Swarbrick and then-university president the Reverend John Jenkins.

“I want to make sure I recognize them,” Freeman said. “And again, it’s not about me. It’s not about one person. It takes a team. A program is required. It takes a lot of people who commit to something bigger than themselves to put your team in a position to be here, and I understand that and I’m very grateful for that. If this creates more opportunities for other coaches, other minority coaches, great. that’s great. It is excellent for future generations of coaches, college football coaches, leaders. I’m all for it and I’m grateful to be a part of it.”

Series

This is the 20th meeting between the programs. They split the first 19, 9-9-1, and haven’t met since September 8, 2007.

The schools met annually from 1981 to 1992 when both were independent; Penn State joined the Big Ten beginning in the 1993 season. Thursday’s game will be only the third meeting since then.

Defense rules

All four CFP semifinalists have stout defenses.

Ohio State ranks No. 1 nationally in rushing yards per game this season, Texas is No. 3, Penn State is No. 6 and Notre Dame is No. 8.

Notre Dame in NFL stadiums

Here’s some good news for Notre Dame: It has won its last six games played in NFL stadiums. Hard Rock Stadium, site of the Orange Bowl, is home to the Miami Dolphins.

Here’s the bad news for Notre Dame: Hard Rock was no fun for the Irish. They are 0-2 in that stadium, losing 42-14 to Alabama in the BCS championship game that ended the 2012 season and losing 41-8 to the Miami Hurricanes in 2017.

Intimate companionship

The attendance will be around 65,000. For Penn State, it’s a bit of a hustle.

Backed by a home stadium that routinely draws crowds in excess of 100,000, the Nittany Lions will see their season total attendance approach 1.4 million in the Orange Bowl.

That will extend Penn State’s single-season record. The Nittany Lions drew 1,247,707 in 2002.